Search the Durango Herald

Talk About Town

Talk About Town

Jaden Brown to be hydrocephalus poster boy

Jaden Brown, the infant son of Christina and Roy Brown of Durango, has been chosen the Face of Hydrocephalus Awareness for 2012 by the national Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation.

Hydrocephalus is an incurable condition in which excessive spinal fluid gathers in the brain, placing potentially damaging pressure on tissues.

Jaden, who will be 2 on April 26, was the subject of a story in The Durango Herald on March 13, 2011, about his mother’s effort to form a support group for people with hydrocephalus. Jaden has a shunt in his head to drain spinal fluid.

Jaden will be the boy featured in promotions for National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month in September. Mackenzie Holcomb, an 11-year-old girl from Ohio, will be the featured girl.

“We’re happy to be part of this recognition,” Christina Brown said Friday. “It’s so cool.”

Jaden’s designation as the face of hydrocephalus carried a $500 stipend, which the family is going to donate to Children’s Hospital in Denver for research, Brown said.

Hydrocephalus occurs about once every 500 births.

The Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit that works to raise awareness about the malady, promotes research and serves as an advocate for the hydrocephalus community.